Sunday, January 29, 2012

Powell Would be Proud: the Hiriko Car

The tiny Spanish Hiriko car (Basque for 'urban') prototype was just unveiled, getting a lot of press for its bizarre/genius design.  Imagine something smaller than a Fiat 500, that's electric, that folds nearly in half when you park it, and has independent all wheel drive.  !
The Hiriko was designed at MIT but built in Spain.  Designed for city use, the Hiriko gets 120KM on a charge and THREE of them can be parked in a standard parking space!  Small cars are an old and obvious solution to crowded city streets, and even the enter-through-the-windshield concept was used on the Isetta 50+ years ago.  What's revolutionary is the Hiriko's ability to fold up when not in use - parked, the Hiriko takes up a third less space than a Smart car! It's hard to explain, but the video illustrates it pretty well.
I think the whole idea is pretty neat, but I'm particularly impressed with its ability to spin in a circle on its own axis... the designers managed to outdo the crazy turning radius of Bucky Fuller's Dymaxion car.  I'll be even more impressed if they manage to turn out more than a couple of prototypes.  Here's hoping...

2 comments:

d a v i d e said...

None of the concepts of this car is new. 4 steering wheels, wrapping structure, electric motors in the wheel hubs and front access have all been introduced before. The real revolution would be to sell it for a very affordable price.
I would also try and remove those incredibly wide tires, maybe the ridiculous 120km range would improve.
I'm not impressed, really not impressed.

Ol' Man Foster said...

Harsh! I like the overall design, and if the concepts aren't particularly new, marrying them all in one car is. That said, you are right- building this at an affordable price point will be the key...